Thursday, 4 January 2018

On The Bright Side ~ Stamps and Stencils ~ New Challenge

Happy New Year everybody! Welcome to my blog, where I am sharing a project for the first Stamps and Stencils challenge of 2018, which you can find over on the Stamps and Stencils blog with this link. Ruth is our talented host this month and she has chosen a theme called 'On the Bright Side'. This is what Ruth has to say.....

.....It may still be winter but it's a brand New Year, the days will be soon getting longer, and pops of bright colours will soon start to appear in the garden. This month I'd like you to dazzle us by using lots of bright colours in your Spring themed creations ...and don't forget to use stamps or stencils.

I think you'll agree that this is a great challenge, to start off another fabulous year of creativity! My project consists of a collection of cards. I have a lot of spring birthdays to cater for so I thought I'd get a head start. Ruth's challenge also presented me with a great opportunity to have a little play with my new Jane Davenport 'Mermaid Pens'. If you haven't seen these pens before, they are like water brushes, filled with wonderfully bright coloured inks. To start off my card making session, I cut several squares of water colour paper, measuring 4 3/4". I then used the pens to brush on patches of colour.

I also had a go at a scribbly heart for one of the cards......

On a couple of the backgrounds, I brushed on some clear water and allowed the ink to run and drip. I also added a few spatters to another. I dried each background with a heat tool before stamping. I chose stamps that I thought could stand alone without needing any further embellishment. I used black Versafine ink and heat embossed the images with clear embossing powder. here are some close ups of the individual cards.......

I like the way the stamp overlaps the coloured area on this one

Although quite simple I like, the graphic quality of this potential valentines card,

Although unintentional, I noticed that the colours on this card, also formed a heart shape on this splattered card

This is one where I added water and allowed the colours to dribble.

Here's one using one of my favourite stamps, it's from a company called Katzelkraft, I've used it a lot for birthday cards of this type.

Another bold image, and finally a background that I embellished with a few strips of washi tape....

To finish off the cards, I mounted each background onto a piece of black card stock. I then adhered them to white card blanks. This gives them quite a smart, crisp, finish. I thoroughly enjoyed this first crafting session of the new year. If you'd like to shake off the winter blues and have a dabble with some bright colours then we'd love to see your work. Hop over to the Stamps and Stencils blog, with this link, and you'll see Ruth's beautiful project as well as some fabulous inspiration from the rest of the design team.

Before I go, I must apologise for not sending out the file folders which were won by, Hazel the winner of our Pastels challenge and Mac Mable chosen at random from the comments left on my blog post. I will be hopping over to you blogs and will send them out ASAP.

About Me

Ever since I can remember, I have enjoyed dabbling with a variety of crafts. My earliest crafting memories are of spending hours doing 'corking' or 'french Knitting' at my grandmother's house, using a wooden cotton reel with four short nails tapped into it and endless tangles of coloured wool. I also have fond memories of those little knitting kits, that came in a container that was made of the same material as an egg box. Happy days!
My interests now, range from textiles to ceramics, with knitting,felting, sewing and card making in between. I've reached a stage where I feel I know a little about a lot of different crafts. I'm still striving to become a master of at least one!
My favourite craft adventures at the moment, include digital collaging using PSP Elements, rubber stamp making with my imagpac kit and getting to know my Craft Robo.
When not crafting or looking after my family, I work part-time as a teacher, supporting visually impaired children.I also teach ceramics in a primary school and do occasional art residencies in mainly primary and special schools. Phew! I didn't realise I was that busy.